Toy



C. AYALA Jan. 26, 1960 TOY 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed nec. 16, 1957 C. AYALA Jan. 26, 1960 TOY Filed Dec. 16, '1957 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 BW l TOY Carl Ayala, Chicago, Ill., assigner to Marvin/I. Glass, Chicago, Ill.

Application December 16, 1957, Serial No. 702,860

' 4 claims. (ci. ,4s-ss) The present invention relates generallyto a toy and, more particularly to a toy which simulates a pneumatic hammer in appearance and operation.

The pneumatic hammer or drill is a tool which almost everyone has heard and watched in'V operation. Its loud, repetitions noise attracts both oldv and young. A toy which simulates a pneumatic hammer'in' both appearance and operation will naturally be` very attractive and appealing to children. Y

Accordingly, the principal object ofthe present invention is` the provision of a new and improved 4to-y which simulates the appearance and noisy operation of a pneumatic hammer. Y Y

A further object of the present invention is the pro-V vision of a toy of Vthe type described whiclris of partic'lar'ly durable and sturdy construction and which is inexpensive in cost.

AnotherI object of the present invention is the provision ofa toy of the type described which maybe easily and safely operated by a child and vrnich is in a form attractive to children.

Other objects and advantages ofthe present invention Willbecome known by reference to the following description and the accompanying drawings of one selected embodiment ofthe invention.` v

In the drawings: u

Figure 1 is a front elevational view of a toy which resembles a pneumatic hammer and which embodies 'various of the features of the present invention;

Figure 2 is a partial, enlarged, cross sectional View taken` along line 21-2 of Figure 1;

Figure 3 is a partial cross-sectional View taken along line 3-3 of Figure 2; and

:Figur'e 4 is an enlarged, exploded perspective view illustrating the interior working mechanism of the toy 'shown in Figure l.

Oiieselect'ed form of a toy which resembles a pneu- States Patent O 'r'natic hammer and which embodies the features of the present invention is illustrated in Figure l.

The simulated air hammer comprises generally a housing 11, a guideway 13 located longitudinally within the housing 11 and extending through the lower wall thereof, and a tool 1,5v which is supported and guided within the guideway 13 for Vreciprocal motion therein. The tool 1'5 exter'rdsv outwardly of the lower end of the guideway 13, is biased in the outward position by a spring 17, and is connected to an interior mechanism 19. The interior mechanism 19 is actuated by the reciprocal motion of 'the tool y15 to produce a sharp staccato sound by striking the interior walls of the housing 11.

The toy is operable by placing the outward end of the tool 115 against a solid surface and by applying pressure to urge the housing 11 toward the supporting surface; 'A's the tool 15 moves inwardly of the housing 11, the interior mechanism 19 is actuated to produce a short, repetitions noise similar to that ofv an operating air hammer. When the pressure applied tothe housing 11 is released, the tool A15 will be urged outwardly of the hous- 2 ing 11 by the spring 17, again producing a loud staccato noise.

The interior mechanism 19, shown best in the enlarged exploded View in Figure 4, includes a slide or rack 21 which is slidable on one surface of the guideway 13 and which is connected to the tool 15 for movement concurrent therewith,l and an escapement mechanism 23 which co-acts with the slide 21 to convert itslineal motion to a rocking motion for alternately effecting contact with the Vinterior walls of the housing `11 to produce -the desired noise effect.

IThe housing 1-'1 may take various fanciful shapes other than that of the illustrated simulated pneumatic hammer which includes a generally cylindrical body section 25 with a pair of simulated springs 27, and a simulated locking device 29 for the tool 15, and a handlebar 31 for grasping the hammer. .A trigger 32 connects with. the handlebar 311 and is resiliently yieldable to closing` pressure. The housing 11 may be constructed in numerous ways of various materials, however, it is pref# erable to minimize the cost of production by fabricating the body section 25 of the housing 11 from two molded, substantially rigid,Y mating half sections 33 formed of plastic material. Still. further economies in production are readily achieved by molding each of the half sections 33 with an integrally extending half section of the. handle'- bar 31.

After the inner working mechanism has been assembled and located within the housing 11, the two complementary half sections 33 may be vbonded together in any suitable manner, such as, for example, with glue or cement, and the trigger 32 may then be secured to the handlebar 31.

A toyV of the type described is desirably constructed to provide for a long and useful life by insulating, as far as possible, the housing 11 from the wear and tear incident to the reciprocal travel of the tool 15 within the housing 11. In this connection, the guideway 13 is A formed and located to accomplish this effect.

The guideway 13 is formed from a sheet of metal in a generally U-shaped channel having its fourth or open side partially closed by a pair of inwardly extending flanges 35, as best seen in Figure 4. This channel engages the upper end of the tool 15 for slidable reciprocal movement therein. The guideway 13 extends longitudinally withinV the housing 11 from a seat 37 on the underside of the upper surface of the housing through the lower wall to adjacent the lower outer surface of the housing 11. It will be readilyV seen that the extension of the guideway through the lower wall 3S of the housing 11 and vthe substantial enclosure by the 'guideway 13 of the upper end of the tool 15, effectively shields the housing 11 from the wear and tear incident to the in and out reciprocal movement of the tool 15. v

A11 outwardly extending ear 39 is formed adjacent the lower end of the guideway 13 which abuts against the interior surface fo the lower wall 33 to maintain the guideway 13 within the housing 11. The lower portion ofthe guideway 13`inclu'cles a tab 41 which extends inwardly thereof from one of the sides to maintain the upper end of the tool 15 within the guideway 13.

The upper end of the guideway 13 is provided with two opposed inwardly formed ears 43 which extend from the opposed full sides of the channel shaped guideway to provide a seat for the spring 17.

The toolr15 may be made of various suitable materials such as wood, plastic, or metal, and may be fancifully designed to resemble any number of tools, including "a chisel, or a iluted drill asA illustrated. 'Ihe Vtool 15 is generally elongated in form and preferably extends when Vin the outward position for a length atleast as long as half the .length of the housing 11. Y ,i

A recessed Vshoulder' 45 is provided adjacent the upper end of the tool 15 for cooperation with the tab 41 of the guideway 13 to maintain the tool within the guideway. A slot 47 is located adjacent the upper end of the tool 15 for interengagement with the slide 21. f

As noted before, the tool 15 is outwardly biased by a spring 17 located in the upper portion of the guideway 13 and which bears at one end against the inwardly formed ears 43 of the guideway 13 and at the other end against the upper end of the tool 15.

As has been briey noted, the staccato noise produced incident to the travel of the tool 15 is accomplished by the cooperation of the slide 21 and the escapement mechanism 23.

The slide 21 is L shaped in cross section and is formed from an elongated sheet of metal of a length preferably slightly more than half the length of the housing 11. One of the legs 49 of the L formation is of a width ap. proximately that of the sides of the guideway 13. A pair of ears 51 are provided at each of the ends of the leg 49 for engagement with the inward facing flanges 35 of the guideway 13 (as best shown in Figure 4) to maintain the slide 21 in adjacent slidable position thereon. Adjacent the lower end of the leg 49 a tab 53 is provided which is adapted to extend inwardly of the guideway 13 between the spaced apart anges 35 to engage within the slot 47 of the tool 15 and thereby provide for movement of the slide 21 concurrent with that of the tool 15. The other upstanding leg 55 of the L formation is serrated, as indi? cated at 57, for cooperative engagement with the escape mechanism 23.

While various methods may be employed to convert the linear motion of the slide 21 into a means for producing a repeating sound effect, an escapement mechanism is particularly adaptable for this purpose. As is well known, the linear motion of the slide 21 may be converted to reciprocal rotative motion by an escapement mechanism 23 such as employed herein.

In this embodiment, the escapement mechanism 23 includes a metal bracket 59 which includes a pair of opposed outstanding semi-cylindrical surfaces 61 for supporting the bracket 59 centrally within the housing 11.V

The surfaces 61 are journaled in opposed recesses 63 in the housing 11. The bracket 59 also includes a pair of spaced apart pallets 65 adapted for interengagement with the serrations 57 of the slide 21, to provide the bracket 59 with rocking movement, and an upward extending arm 67, including a double-ended hammer or striker 69 at the outer end thereof. The arm 67 is positioned transverse to the axis of rotation and outward of the guideway 13. The induced reciprocal rotative movement causes the hammer 69 to swing back and forth, first striking one wall and then the other wall of the housing 11 to produce the desired noise eiect. The pallets 65, the arm 67, and the double-ended hammer 69 are so proportioned as to cause one of the ends of the hammer 69 to be in contact with one of the opposed interior walls of the housing 11 when the bracket 59 is in each of the opposed limiting positions.

The utilization of an escape mechanism 23, such as has been briefly described, also tends to advantageously protect the housing 11 from any undue violent hammering of the striker 69. This is accomplished by the well known ability of an escapement mechanism, such as is employed herein, to restrain any violent and sudden movement of an operating slide or rack.

Operation of the tool by a youngster to produce the simulated staccato air hammer noise is both simple and safe. The simulated air hammer may be held by the handlebar 31, and when the tool is positioned on a firm 4 simulates that of an air hammer. When the downward pressure is released, the tool, 15 will be forced outwardly of the guideway 13 by the spring 17, and an accompanying loud staccato noise will again be produced in a similar fashion.

The described toy may be economically produced and, as has been explained, is of particularly durable construction to provide for a long and entertaining life.

Other additional changes and modifications may be made in the disclosed construction without departing from the scope of the invention which is to be determined by the appended claims.

I claim:

1. A noise-producing toy resembling a pneumatic hammer comprising a housing formed of a pair of mating parts and having an integrally extending handlebar, a guideway extending longitudinally within said housing from within a seat in the upper end of said housing through the lower wall thereof, said guideway having an outwardly extending ear adjacent the lower end thereof for bearing against the inner surface of the bottom of said housing to maintain the guideway within the housing, a tool slidably supported within said guideway for linear reciprocal movement therein between an inner position and an outer position and extending outward from within the lower end of said guideway, said outward position being determined by a tab extending inward of the guideway to engage a shoulder on said tool to thereby prevent travel of said tool out of said guideway, al spring located within the upper portion of said guideway for biasing the movement of said tool to the outward of said positions, said spring bearing at one end against the inner end of said tool and bearing at the other end against an inward extending extension of said guideway, said tool being caused to move inwardly of said guideway by an oppositely directed pressure applied to said housing when said tool is abutted against a support, a slide member having slidable engagement with said guideway and connection to said tool for concurrent movement therewith; said slide member having an upstanding serrated edge, and an escapement mechanism journalled within the walls of said housing centrally thereof and having reciprocal rotative movement of said housing, said escapement mechanism including a bracket having a pair of spaced-apart pallets engaging said upstanding serrated edge of said slide member, and said bracket also being formed with a striker arm having a double-ended hammer for producing a loud staccato noise by alternate contact against opposed interior walls of said housing.

2. A noise-producing toy resembling a pneumatic hammer comprising a housing, a guideway located longitudinally within said housing and extending through the lower wall thereof, a tool slidably supported for linear reciprocal movement therein and extending outwardly from within the lower end of said guideway, means for biasing said tool outwardly of said guideway, said tool belng caused to move inwardly of said guideway by an oppositely directed pressure applied to said housing when said tool is abutted against a support, and means operable in cooperation with said reciprocal movement of said tool for producing a loud staccato noise, said noise producing means including a slide member positioned adjacent said guideway and having reciprocal movement incident to the movement of said tool, and an escapement mechanism positioned adjacent said guideway in engagement with said slide member, said escapement mechanism being formed with a striker positioned for striking of said housing to produce the loud staccato noise effect incident to oscillation of said escapement mechanism resulting from movement of said slide member.

3. A noise-producing toy resembling a pneumatic hammer comprising a housing, a guideway extending longitudinally within said housing to adjacent the outer surface of the lower end, a tool slidably supported within said guideway for linear reciprocal movement therein between an inner position and an outer position and eX- tending outwardly from within the lower end of said guideway, a spring located within said guideway for biasing the movement of said tool to the outward of said positions, said tool being caused to move inwardly of said guideway by an oppositely directed pressure applied to said housing when said tool is abutted against a support, and means operable in cooperation with said reciprocal movement of said tool including a slide member having a serrated edge, said slide member being carried on said guideway and being engaged with said tool for concurrent reciprocal movement therewith, and an escapement mechanism positioned adjacent said guideway in engagement with said serrated slide member edge, said escapement mechanism having an extending striking arm positioned for action against said housing to produce a loud staccato noise incident to oscillation of said escapement n echanism resulting from movement of said slide member.

4. A noise-producing toy resembling a pneumatic hammer comprising a housing formed of a pair of mating parts and having an integrally extending handlebar, a guideway extending longitudinally within said housing from Within a seat adjacent the upper end of said housing and through the lower wall thereof, a tool slidably supe ported within said guideway for linear reciprocal movement therein between an inner position and an outer position and extending outwardly from within the lower end of said guideway, a spring located within the upper portion of said guideway for biasing the movement of said tool to the outward of said positions, said tool being caused to move inwardly of said guideway by an oppositely directed pressure applied to said housing when said tool is abutted against a support, and means operable in cooperation with said reciprocal movement of said tool for producing a loud staccato noise effect, said means including a slide member and an escapement mechanism, said slide member being carried on said guideway and connected to said tool for linear reciprocal movement therewith, said slide member being formed with a serrated edge, said escapement mechanism being located centrally of said housing and journalled within the Walls of said housing, said escapement mechanism including a bracket having a pair of spaced-apart pallets engaging said serrated edge of said slide member, said escapement mechanism including a striker arm extending from said bracket and formed with a double-ended hammer having oscillating movement incident to movement of said tool for producing a loud staccato noise by alternate Contact againstV opposed interior walls of said housing.

References Cited in the tile of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,315,746 Smolinsky Sept. 9, 1919 1,359,927 Smolinslcy Nov. 23, 1920 2,593,026 Hawkins Apr. 15, 1952 2,672,707 Greenhaus Mar. 23, 1954 FOREIGN PATENTS 648,021 Great Britain Dec. 28, 1950 

